You can tell a man by his friends ...

For a self-styled freedom-of- speech 'martyr', Julian Assange's choice of bedfellows says it all (News, August 20): an Ecuadorian president with one of the highest levels of censorship in South America and a Spanish magistrate disbarred for abuse of power.

For a self-styled freedom-of- speech 'martyr', Julian Assange's choice of bedfellows says it all (News, August 20): an Ecuadorian president with one of the highest levels of censorship in South America and a Spanish magistrate disbarred for abuse of power.

Assange's supporters, including nations with less-than-reputable human rights track-records, are presumably happy to have their government terminals hacked into, state secrets leaked and national security breached, diplomatic relations jeopardised and the carefully protected identities and lives of operatives on the ground put at risk.

The WikiLeaks's founder remains a mere fugitive on the run, bent on self-preservation.